Sheriff's Attorney Accuses Seipler Of Releasing Documents To Blog

Official-looking documents from the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office posted on an anonymous website are directly tied to former Deputy Zane Seipler, who has a wrongful termination case pending in federal court, said Sheriff’s Office attorney Jim Sotos.

Seipler denies these claims.

Sotos represents the Sheriff’s Office in Seipler’s 2008 civil rights case; Seipler alleges he was fired for accusing the Sheriff's Office of racial profiling.

The documents on “The Real MCSO Exposed” appear to bear the seal of the Sheriff’s Office and date back 15 years. 

The documents, which Seipler and his attorney obtained as part of the lawsuit’s discovery process, were turned over to them with the explicit understanding that they are sealed under the law and not public.

The documents are connected to a 1997 case involving McHenry County Sheriff's deputies, alcohol and possibly cannabis.

Sotos said the documents were copies of internal investigations undertaken by the Sheriff’s Office and is private under the law. 

Sotos recognized the documents on the website as those provided to Seipler because of the specific editing marks on each item and spoke with confidence that they originated from Seipler. 

“I will tell you that these are private matters that have long been resolved and the idea that he’s trying to revive them 15 years after the fact to suit his own malicious purposes is unfortunate,” Sotos said. 

Sotos said he will file a motion with the court to determine whether or not any sanctions are appropriate. He also is looking into how the website might be removed. 

Seipler said he isn’t responsible for posting them on the website and seemed incredulous that a news agency would be asking about how they got there rather than the content of the documents.

“I am not responsible for posting the information regarding Nygren's supervisors on the Internet,” he said. "Although I don't think anyone would argue that the information is accurate and true, I'm not responsible."

Seipler said he was fired after accusing some deputies of racial profiling as a means to increase arrest quotas for performance reviews and promotional opportunities. 

Sheriff Keith Nygren said Seipler was fired for misconduct that he admitted to.

— C.M. Schmidlkofer contributed to this report